Vehicles equipped with control systems for autonomous drive are capable of travelling and interacting with other road-users without direct manual control by one or more occupants in the vehicle. These control systems may be engaged or disengaged depending on whether the occupant in the driving seat wishes to manually control, in example, to drive, the vehicle or if an autonomous driving mode is preferred. Autonomous driving, in general, comprises a plurality of different operations, where each operation is associated with one or more states.
It is of great importance that the state of an autonomous drive related operation of the vehicle is determined in a controlled manner, and in line with the intent and wishes of one or more occupants of the vehicle, thus ensuring a safe operation of the vehicle when in an autonomous driving mode. For instance, engaging or disengaging an autonomous driving mode of the vehicle should not be performed in an un-safe or otherwise unexpected manner, since this would jeopardize the safety of the one or more vehicle occupants, as well as of other road-users in the vicinity of the vehicle.
Furthermore, the vehicle occupants should have the freedom to engage in tasks not related to driving in order to provide as positive a travelling experience as possible. However, that provision should not come at the expense of reduced safety. Consequently, any actions by the vehicle should not be performed in an un-safe manner, nor should it be executed when the occupant does not expect it or wish for it.
It is an object of the present disclosure to provide solutions to, or at least mitigate, the above mentioned deficiencies in the art.